Do you know of any very thin 100% wool socks? - YouLookFab Forum

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Do you know of any very thin 100% wool socks?

Chris987

Veteran

Has
anyone found very thin 100% wool socks? I have several pairs of leather boots sized to wear with heavy-ish nylon knee highs or tights but I’d rather wear wool in winter because it breathes better. My feet tend to perspire a lot and synthetic, cotton, or cotton blend socks get damp and then my feet are cold, which is not a good formula for my cold climate. I sometimes change socks in the middle of the day to deal with this. I’ve never found wool socks thin enough. It looks like smart wool has a lot of different weights of socks. Does anyone have any experience with the lightweight ones, or any other suggestions?

I have boots in larger sizes that I do wear with heavier smartwool socks, and my feet are very happy in this configuration, so I have that covered.

Thanks for any ideas.

Shopping

34 replies

Latest reply was from RobinF

always trying

Veteran

have some. They are ski socks. The ones I have are Ultimax, but also have another brand packed away with my ski gear. My suggestion is to try the ski department at a sporting goods store.

karen13

Veteran

Try smart wool ultralight ski socks. I pretty much only wear wool socks, mostly smartwool, a few by icebreaker. They are fabulous. Sierra trading post is a good source, although it might work better for me as I can return in store. Both companies make both sport and fashion socks.

What length/color are you looking for?

unfrumped

Veteran

Gold Toe made a wool trouser sock that is quite thin- I have a couple of pairs, but I don't know if still available.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I have the Margaritas by Smartwool. They come in milllions of colours but Amazon won't let me do a Find.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod.....&pf_r

They also have no show socks which I thought I had in my collections but apparently not -- I got them at the NAS. They are a bit large on me, alas, but otherwise great. ETA: found them.

I have some by another brand as well, but don't like them quite as well as the Smartwool version.

The cable sock is a solid colour but not as thin and it bothers the bottoms of my feet. Though, looking at the closeup, maybe they have changed the design -- it doesn't look like the cables go across the bottom any more?

Of course these wear out much faster than a heavier sock. I have to replenish yearly. Totally worth it in my view.

SmartWool 'Margarita' Crew Socks

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SmartWool 'Cable II' Crew Socks

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SmartWool No-Show Socks (2-Pack)

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

ETA: they are not 100% wool. There is some nylon to make them stretchy and to improve endurance. But it does not make me perspire, FWIW, and adds to the longevity. Though if you wear them as hard as I do they will only last a year or so. I put mine in washer and dryer, also.

JAileen

Veteran

I had some thin Smartwool socks. They were called trouser socks. I think they may have had some nylon - ten percent or so. They weren't at all comfortable for me. The seam around the toes hurt, and my feet felt sweaty, and so got cold. I gave them away.

My solution is REI hiking socks. My shoes have to accomodate them, and most of the time my feet are comfortable. They are not thin, though.

Staysfit

Veteran

An expensive but durable solution, try to find Wolford Merino Wool Trouser Socks. Much nicer and thinner than smart wool. Mine are on their fourth year. I machine wash and hang drey.

dashielle (Ann)

(website)

Veteran

Thanks Staysfit, I'm looking too and found those at Zappos!

Wolford Merino Knee-Highs

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Wolford Merino Knee-Highs

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Style Fan

Veteran

I wear Smartwool. I have the same ones as Suz. I wash them in the machine in cold water on delicate and hang to dry. I rarely use the dryer.
I like the look of the Wolford ones but I don't like knee socks.

approprio

(website)

Veteran

I like Falke. Lovely socks, but pricy and need to be washed on the wool cycle. I sometimes find them on sale in the men's department.

LaPed

Veteran

Viyella Knee Socks for taller boots. Longest-lasting wool socks I have found, and they don't sag or slip down.

I also like Darn Tough Light Crew Socks. Very durable compared to Smartwool, and the company has an exceptional warranty.

Viyella Viyella Men's 1 Pair Knee High Wool Ribbed Socks with Hand Linked Toe

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Darn Tough Darn Tough Vermont Women's Solid Crew Light

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

Wow -- so interesting, JAileen. I remember we had a conversation on the forum about the Smartwool cable ones and some people found them perfectly fine while others (like me) were bothered by the footbeds with cables running across them. Meanwhile, I find the Margaritas quite good and not sweat-inducing -- seams don't bother me a bit!

Some may have to do with climate, I suppose....and perhaps with the kinds of shoes a person is also wearing? But most is just down to individual sensitivity.

Thanks for the tip about Wolford, Staysfit. Very pricey indeed but if they last, could be worth it. I wish I liked knee socks better. These look like they would be far too long for me and in most knee socks I feel my circulation is being cut off.

Men's socks could be a great solution for those with bigger feet. My feet are quite small so men's are always far too large for me. As I mentioned, even the Smartwool no shows are too big (so they bunch up a lot around my heel and only work in a couple of my shoes.) I have considered kids' but they don't tend to make thinner styles.

Chris987

Veteran

Wow, thanks so much for all the suggestions! I will review this carefully and get some. I also plan to size up when buying leather boots in the future so there is room for socks.

Marlene1

Late to this, but have you tried liner socks? They are quite thin, because they are meant to be worn as a first layer with hiking boots - the theory is that two pairs of socks prevent blisters. Try REI.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Maybe look in the men's dress wool sock section?

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I searched around a bit just to see if 100% wool socks existed. I found these:

http://www.customwoolenmills.c.....wool_socks

and some options on etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1.....ref=market

Isabel

Veteran

I find thin wool socks quite often in the men's department at department stores. They are often found with the dressier clothes like jackets and button downs. It makes sense that men want THIN socks with dress shoes. When I worked, I bought mine at jc penny and they were great quality. All my other socks were smart wool.

Isabel

Veteran

https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UT.....ss%20socks

JAileen

Veteran

Suz, I don't hate Smartwool socks. The ones I was describing were wrong for me in every respect. The same time I bought the trouser socks, I bought these striped socks. They are very cozy and comfortable. They don't have the bad seam across my toes. I love them! But they aren't thin.

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

Yes, I know what you mean -- different ones feel differently. I can't manage some of their thicker socks but my DH loves them. I find them really bunchy. (I do like and own different ones by Smartwool that are thicker). So for Chris, maybe the take-away is that she might have to try a few out to find out her tolerance for different factors.

Diana

Veteran

I wear and like Smartwools but I do find the durability a little bit lacking. I might try some of the other options in this thread when it comes time to replace the ones I have. The smartwool hide and seek footie socks however are the best ones I've found for fit so I continue to buy them even though I'm constantly putting holes in the toes and balls of feet. (Note that I found the NAS ones to fit differently though...)

Smartwool Hide and Seek II 3-Pair Pack

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Chris987

Veteran

Suz and others yes I will definitely try some different ones, I would not expect them to all be exactly the same. Also I love the idea of trying men's socks, they would be exactly right, but I don't think they would be small enough to fit my size 6 1/2 -7 feet. (same issues Suz described).

Marlene I didn't think of trying liner socks, and I do have a couple of pairs of very old ones, I'll give those a try too.

Staysfit

Veteran

The Wolfords are long, but not too tight in my experience. They don't cut off my circulation and they seem to stay up. I have tried smart wool also. On my legs, the smartwool are prone to falling down, and to cutting off circulation. At the end of a workday, I am anxious to take the smartwool off.

Joy

Veteran

In the past, I've found that lace socks are quite warm. You might consider the ones Angie picked in Finds. Layer with knee high nylons for more warmth. I like Smart Wool from REI, especially the ones called PhD. They seem thinner. Mine have held up well for at least a couple of winters.

Oroblu 'Estelle' Lace Knee High Socks

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Astrid

Veteran

Like Suz I often wear Smartwool socks, but my experience with the Margarita socks were not so great, they wore through pretty quickly. The Smartwool Sulawesi socks held up much better. And I have Falke socks which are awesome for dressier shoes, they are also thinner than the Smartwool socks. I can wear them with my oxfords and I normally wear tights with those shoes. They're not 100% wool though. And they're expensive, I think around 15€ the pair.

kkards

Veteran

Chris...thanks for starting this thread. huge fan of smartwool socks, but find that they aren't what i would call "very thin", ie work ok with sneakers etc but not with fitted shoes. i'm a fan of falke socks, but have only tried the cotton ones...now i have a whole list of brands to try

Chris987

Veteran

Thanks everyone! I may not post replies but will definitely continue to follow this thread and will post back once I find and try some socks. In the meantime keep the ideas coming! Glad this thread is useful to others too

April

Veteran

I didn't even know that Wolford made knee highs, but their hosiery is so delicious, if their socks are of the same quality, I would be tempted to buy one or two pairs of their merino knee highs per winter until I had a proper sock wardrobe.

Having the right socks, if you walk a lot, or have fussy feet, is no joke -- especially in the city. Many thin, knee-high type socks (not nylon knee highs, which are just not warm enough for East Coast winters) start to feel very "thready" on the sole after an hour or so of walking in a non-snow-boot. Very uncomfortable. Ditto for tights. And fleece-lined tights are synthetic, and very slip-slidy inside once they make your feet start to perspire. Don't even get me started on those toe seams that move around and start feeling like a pebble in your shoe.

April

Veteran

P.S. Here is a funny story about Wolford.

Years ago, when my darling husband wasn't my husband yet, he went into a Wolford boutique hoping to get me a lovely gift. (Ours was a second marriage, so we were approaching middle age in this story; don't picture teenagers.)

He loves patterned stockings and had heard that Wolford hosiery was very fine. The sales associate -- to hear him tell it, she had the most booming voice in Manhattan -- without batting an eye asked him, "WERE YOU INTERESTED IN SOMETHING CROTCHLESS?" My husband is rather shy and as you can imagine, he had to summon all his courage to remain in the store. Remain he did, however, and managed to buy me a beautiful pair of patterned tights.

After that, he did his Wolford shopping online.

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